The boss of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Ross McEwan, has spoken about the banking industry and the effect that an interest rate rise could have on customers.
McEwan has said that a lot of bank customers are worried about the interest rate rise, which is thought to happen early next year. There have been about 1.5 million people buy homes since the financial crash of 2007, which makes a huge number of homeowners with a mortgage that have never experienced a major interest rate rise.
RBS is 81% owned by the taxpayer, and McEwan said that supporting their customers and guiding them through the imminent interest rate rise would go a long way to restoring their faith in the banking industry.
He also commented on the 2.5 million complaints by customers against the banking industry in the last year, saying it was “nothing short of appalling.”
RBS has faced a multitude of problems in the past, including the PPI scandal, as well as a deluge of regulatory issues and all sorts of fines. Using a five hundred day plan, McEwan wants to see the bank back to trading honestly and put all of the “past problems, practices and related fines” in the past.
It can’t be said yet exactly when the interest rates will go up, but despite reports the economy is supposedly improving, it could mean a lot of trouble for a lot of people. It will be up to the banks to help out their customers, and maybe redeem themselves for their past infractions.
